White wine of lemon yellow color. The nose is very aromatic with aromas reminiscent of citrus fruits (orange and lemon). On the palate it is very fresh, mineral, with hints of pear and citrus fruits, and a mild acidity that accompanies this wine from the beginning to the end.

Food pairing: The Flower and the Bee is a wine that pairs very well with fish and seafood (sardines, turbot, cod, clams, cockles). Also suitable for white meats and lightly cured cheeses. In this case we have paired it with a sea dish: Rice with cockles and mussels.

The cockle is a very tasty mollusk, with a high content of iron, and that both steamed, grilled, or rice is delicious if you catch the point of cooking. This implies that it must be almost raw, so it will be juicy. After adding the vegetable base and the rice to the cooking, we will leave the cockles to add in the end, and if you want, you can add some mussels to complete the mixture. The secret is to use broth from the seafood itself to cook, and even add a little wine to the pot.

Apart from being one of my favorite rices, it is very nutritious and healthy.

P.S. It is recommended to use fresh or frozen cockle, in no case canned. The mussel can be fresh or previously cooked in seawater.

Winter is proposing offers of authentic taste. For a special dinner , we chose two wines no less special . Both from the same winery, Algueira. We started with a seafood clams fresh, top quality , cooked on a green sauce, with white wine by the way, a traditional and tasty dish that I have learned from my grandmother through my mother. For the occasion, Brandan, a fruity, fresh white wine, from Godello grapes , fresh and fruity, with a balanced mix of acidity and green fruit, ideal accompaniment to shellfish. Any other fruity white wine, Riesling, Treixadura, Albariño, a Chardonnay pairs pretty well with this dish.

For the rice we have chosen a very special wine , a wine grape native Galician from Algueira WineryMerenzao 2011. A very personal wine , which is notable for its vibrant purple color , so fruity aromas from Atlantic deciduous forest , laurel, red fruits of the forest. At the same time we perceive that this wine, at the same time, is unctuous, with much glycerin, petting palate when drunk , that opens our senses . Definitely a pretty odd wine that will delight lovers to try new flavors . The Merenzao grape is without any doubt a surprising gift. A tasty great wine perfect to pair with boletus mushroom; in this case served , first, as a carpaccio starter , but as a main course as rice . A pleasure for the senses .

Saturday, November 5, 2016

D.O. Manzanilla, Sanlúcar de Barrameda. (Jerez, Cádiz). Spain

Year 2016

Variety:Palomino (white wine).

Elaboration:Maceration in wineskin, biological process under “velo de flor”.

Temperature: 5º-8º C.Alcohol Content:15º-16 º C.

Manzanilla is a native white wine from Sanlucar de Barrameda, Cádiz, within the so-called triangle of Jerez. Pale yellow, odorous, with a dry finish and vegetable nuances, minerals, and even salted. It is obtained from the Palomino grape, and it is a wine to consume in the year. The "manzanilla branch" is a natural manzanilla dry white wine, unfiltered obtained through a process called "flor", the result of the action of yeast on wine, resulting in a very unique type of biological aging. It is bottled directly from the boot, to the bottle, resulting in a very fresh wine that must be consumed in the shortest possible time and drunk at low temperature.